[Harp-L] Re: Harp tech gurus

[Michael Easton <diachrome@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

I wasn't suggesting we  beat that dead horse. lol. I only brought it up because the current discussion  reminded me of my old  post.  Could have been that I posted that in response to a similar thread.  I'm not advocating certification. 

Harp techs do communicate behind the scenes. A few of us know personal hardships and struggles and sacrifices we make to remain in business. Family, health, and security play a big part in it.

I can't answer for how other techs should deal with situations that arise and paid customers get caught in the middle.   I rarely accept payment upfront because it makes me nervous to sit on other people's money. That's just me. 




Take care
Mike
www.harmonicarepair.com



On Jun 3, 2013, at 7:02 PM, Jerry Deall <jdeall@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

> I agree, certification is in no way an assurance of competence, only in the ability to test well.
> 
> Thanks Jerry, 
> 
> From: "Joseph Leone" <3n037@xxxxxxxxxxx>
> To: diachrome@xxxxxxxxxxx
> Cc: "Harp L Harp L" <harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx>
> Sent: Monday, June 3, 2013 4:40:17 PM
> Subject: Re: [Harp-L] Re: Harp tech gurus
> 
> Hi Mike. While I openly agree with your assessment of the situation and feeling about qualification(s), I wish to call you attention to a few factors.
> 
> Many many years ago I was a general construction man. All phases of construction. Footer to roof. I laid out the footer, I supervised the roof. And worked on everything in between. I worked for a small non union operation. Many of the jobs that we acquired were repairs to jobs that had been union done. At the time a union construction man was averaging $5.63 an hour. And they usually specialized. I was non union, made only $2.50 an hour and a lot of the jobs I repaired were ghastly. So, I don't think certification is that big a deal.
> I don't say this to pick on union workers. Merely to point out that one would think that someone with journeyman or master mechanic status would do a better job than some non union 'Kid'. 
> 
> I have known many many people whom having had no prior knowledge of remodeling, were able to do a better job than a contractor. Main reason? They took their time, felt that if something wasn't right, they would tear it out and fix it. Mainly because they were already saving on labor. They also usually used better materials.
> 
> At the present time, I happen to know several top notch technicians whom DON't take jobs. One is a designer/inventor who makes harmonicas from scratch. Another has a busy day job and would be swamped. And so is VERY selective. And asking a general list whom the best technicians will be like asking what wine a person prefers. Just as in 'What's the best ootb diatonic or chromatic'? A thousand people will have a thousand answers. 
> 
> The reason I say this is that I have, over the years, read many critiques on items written by people whom are not at all knowledgeable about said products, have had limited exposure to them, don't know much about other competitor's products. It's so easy for (for example) someone to say: " Barry Finsterwald is a great tech. ", when Barry is the ONLY one they have experience with. 
> 
> And this is why I think you never got much in the way of feedback. I don't think anyone has experience with all the techs. So no one can really rate them...for the general population. Only for themselves.
> 
> You? Yes I would give YOU a masters papers. So with much respect......smokey-joe
> 
>        
> 
> On Jun 3, 2013, at 6:04 PM, diachrome@xxxxxxxxxxx wrote:
> 
> > 
> > Somewhere between 2000 and 2002 I wrote a long winded post to harpl with the idea of finding a way to 
> > offer certification for harp techs so customers know the guy that is working on their harps is qualified. Then as now anybody with a how to book and a few tools can call themselves a harp tech or customizer without having gone through the process of knowing exactly what they are doing. I feel now as I did then that you should have a thorough knowledge of repairs before even attempting to customize. The background as a repair tech should precede being able to call oneself a customizer. At the time I refused to repair any custom harps with the exception of Pat Missin's or Brendan's US and Canada customers. I felt if you can't fix it you shouldn't be selling it. 
> > 
> > 
> > I did not get favorable feedback at the time. Most of the backlash came from other techs who eventually didn't make it past the 5 years mark. 
> > 
> > 
> > I have bent my rule and have a working relationship with at least one customizer whose work I admire a lot. But that is a rare exception. 
> > 
> > 
> > Now Hohner has it's own form of certification program. The only hitch with that is you can't work on other brand harps once you become a recognized Hohner customizer. I think this only relates to diatonic customizers. 
> > 
> > 
> > Evolution has a way of weeding out the weak and the same is true with techs. The ones that treat it like a Craft have the fortitude to persevere. Those looking for easy income don't last very long. 
> > 
> > 
> > Of the 5 points below I feel "D)' should rarely be an issue when you are dealing with knowledgeable techs. 
> > Quality takes time. No short cut around it. If someone offers fast turnaround times and will take as many repairs as you can ship at once, that would be a red flag in my book. They are just looking to horde business away from other techs and creating unrealistic deadlines for themselves. In that instance both the tech and customer have diluted expectations. 
> > 
> > 
> > mike 
> > www.harmonicarepair.com 
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > Message: 5 
> > Date: Sun, 2 Jun 2013 17:21:07 -0700 (PDT) 
> > From: Larry Sandy <slyou65@xxxxxxxxx> 
> > Subject: Re: [Harp-L] Harp Tech Gurus 
> > To: Harp-L <harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx>, Eric Miller <miller.eric.t@xxxxxxxxx> 
> > Message-ID: 
> > <1370218867.63236.YahooMailClassic@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> 
> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1 
> > 
> > 
> > Hi Eric, 
> > 
> > Great idea to publish the who's who of harp repair and customizing. 
> > 
> > It would be very interesting and potentially valuable to Harp-L citizens to evaluate various customizers and repair persons, both domestic and abroad. There are several outstanding service providers on our great Harp-L list and this would be a great opportunity to honor those who deserve our recognition and appreciation publicly. 
> > 
> > Of course there are a few that it may be prudent to avoid entrusting a favorite or expensive harmonica with, and it would be great to know who these are. Who doesn't recall the many victims of Harrison a few years ago? 
> > 
> > I would suggest evaluations based on the following criteria: Feel free to add to /delete from this list. 
> > A) Satisfaction with completed harmonica based on requested services. 
> > B) Changes you would consider on your next order. 
> > C) Quality of communication. 
> > D) Speed of completed harmonica. 
> > E) Probability of using and recommending the same person again. 
> > 
> > The primary purpose of this exercise is to pay recognition and recommend our favorite specialists. Off list communication may be appropriate in some cases. 
> > 
> > Lockjaw Larry 
> > Wondering who are the best, daily 
> > 
> 
>